1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus to which different kinds of cards can be selectively inserted, such as a portable wireless control apparatus accommodating therein two kinds of wireless PC cards, for example, which can be selectively and detachably inserted into the apparatus. More particularly, this invention relates to an electrical connection between such a card and an apparatus body.
It has been required that a portable wireless control apparatus accommodating a wireless card is small in size and light in weight. Therefore, the card must be accommodated in a small space in the apparatus body. In addition, in order to widen the market of these wireless apparatus, it has become necessary that the apparatus itself can be applied to any other type of wireless card.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional wireless apparatus will be described. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a body of a wireless apparatus; 2 denotes a printed circuit board arranged in the apparatus body; 3 denotes two wireless units (antennas) arranged in the vicinity of the side wall of the apparatus body; 4 denotes a connector (PCMCIA connector) for setting the wireless card to the apparatus body; 5 denotes a wireless card detachably fitted into the apparatus body; 6 denotes a coaxial cable for electrically connecting the wireless unit to the wireless card.
In this prior art, two wireless units 3 are arranged in the apparatus, but in the vicinity of the outer wall thereof. The coaxial cables 6 extend from the respective wireless units 3 to a position in front of the wireless card 5 and the tip end plugs of these coaxial cables 6 are inserted into the two slots (jacks), respectively, provided at the front side of the wireless card 5, so that the signal can be communicated between the antennas 3 and the wireless card 5.
In the prior art shown in FIG. 8, the two wireless chips (antennas) 7 are mounted on the printed circuit board 2 and connected to the two slots 8, respectively, provided in the vicinity of the card inserting section of the printed circuit board 2 by means of the lines on the printed circuit board 2, respectively. The end plugs of the two cables 9 are connected, at one end thereof, to the slots 8 on the printed circuit board 2 and, at the other end thereof, to the slots of the wireless card 5, so that the signal can be communicated between the antennas 3 and the wireless card 5.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the prior art method of the connection between the antennas and the wireless card, coaxial cables are used because noise would be picked-up if general type cables were used. Thus, it would be necessary to provide a space to place the coaxial cables therealong and to prevent the coaxial cables from affecting the other electronic parts. In addition, the coaxial cables may be damaged by the operator himself when the operator touches the cables.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electric apparatus to which different kind of cards can selectively be inserted, capable of improving the connecting operation without cables, connecting in a small space, and avoiding problems of breakage of cables, without using cables for the electrical or signal connection between the card and the apparatus body.
According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus with a card detachably inserted thereinto, the apparatus comprising: a circuit board on which a connector is provided; a card slot section into which a card having a connector can be inserted; an adapter for electrically connecting the connector of the card to the connector of the circuit board, the adapter comprising: an integrally formed connector provided with a first connector portion being in contact with the connector of the circuit board and a second connector portion with which the connector of the card comes in contact; and a base portion for accommodating therein the integrally formed connector in such a manner that a position of the second connector portion can be changed.
The adapter comprises two integrally formed connectors which can be accommodated in the base portion in such a manner that a distance between two second connector portions can be changed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus with a card detachably inserted thereinto, capable of selectively accepting into an apparatus body either one of at least two kinds of cards, whose connecting terminals positions are different from each other, and capable of attaining an electrical communication between the card and the apparatus body, when the card is fitted in the apparatus body; the apparatus comprising:
the apparatus body having connecting sections; and
an adapter comprising a base portion, a connector means accommodated in the base portion for connecting the connecting terminals of the card to the connecting sections of the apparatus body, and means for holding the connector means selectively at either one of at least two positions in the base portion in accordance with the kind of card.
The card has two slots as the connecting terminals and the apparatus body also has two slots as the connecting sections, and the distance between the first slot of the apparatus body and the first slot of the card is equal to a distance between the second slot of the apparatus body and the second slot of the card, when the card is inserted into the apparatus body.
One of a first card and a second card can selectively be inserted into the apparatus body, each of first and second cards having two slots, but the distance between the two slots being different from each other, a sum of an interval between the two slots of the first card and an interval between the two slots of the second card being equal to an interval between the two slots of the apparatus body.
The two slots of the first and second cards and the two slots of the apparatus body are symmetrically arranged with respect to a reference surface perpendicular to the cards.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising:
an apparatus body comprising,
a receiving section to which either one of first and second electronic units can selectively fitted, the first electronic unit having a first connecting terminal at a first position and the second electronic unit having a second connecting terminal at a second position different from the first position; and
a body side connecting terminal to which one of the first and second connecting terminals is selectively connected for electrical communication, when one of the first and second electronic units is fitted into the receiving section;
an adapter accommodating therein a pair of connectors, which can be inserted into the first or second connecting terminal and the body side connecting terminal, respectively; and
the body side connecting terminal being arranged in such a manner that an interval between the first connecting terminal and the body side connecting terminal in a state where the first electronic unit is fitted into the apparatus body is equal to an interval between the second connecting terminal and the body side connecting terminal in a state where the second electronic unit is fitted into the apparatus body.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connecting adapter for connecting a connecting terminal of a first electronic unit and a connecting terminal of a second electronic unit, the adapter comprising:
a connector comprising a first connector portion electrically connected to the connecting terminal of the first electronic unit and a second connector portion electrically connected to the connecting terminal of the second electronic unit, the first and second connector portions being integrally formed together;
a cover for accommodating therein the connector, the cover having one or more first slots into which the first connector portion can be inserted and a plurality of second slots into which the second connector portion can be inserted, a number of the first slots being the same as the number of the connector and a number of the second slots being more than the number of the connector, so that the connectors are accommodated in the cover in such a manner that the first connector portions are located in the respective first slots and the second connector portions can selectively be located in the second slots.
Otherwise, respective numbers of the first and second slots are more than the number of the connectors, so that the connectors are accommodated in the cover in such a manner that the first and second connector portions can selectively be located in the first and second slots, respectively.